Lincoln Pickard is one of three candidates running for the 80th Assembly District Special Election on April 5, after the resignation of Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez in January.
Pickard is a retired contractor who said he believes that many things need to change in Sacramento to bring California back to the great state it used to be. The 80-year-old Republican unsuccessfully ran for San Diego City Council in 2014, and for the 80th Assembly district in 2016 and 2018. Pickard lives in South San Diego, east of Imperial Beach.
Pickard has a list of campaign goals in his running that he said he is passionate about changing. He said if elected he wants to tackle the price of gas.
“Gas prices are very high,” he said. “They have been going up due to incorrect policies, so we need to talk about opening the pipeline that President Joe Biden closed, and we should be drilling for more oil in the east and in California also. It is supply that brings the price down.”
Pickard said he needs the people’s help in managing water to end drought years.
“We actually get enough water from rain and snow over a six year period to take care of all of our needs and more,” he said. “Along with ground water. But too much of that water goes out into the ocean and we do not use it. You have seen the floods that we have had, and if we save that water and preserve it for dry years, we will have plenty of water. We need to build more dams. It is funny, because even there, it is my understanding that funding is available, but they just will not build anymore. Build the infrastructure and we will have plenty of water for the dry years.”
Pickard said that serious work is needed in managing forests in the state to stop wildfires that kill and hurt too many people.
“You need to make sure that you get rid of your fire waste so that firefighters can get in there when there is a wildfire,” he said. “Half of it would need to be retrofitted to keep them safe from wildfires. The problem is with the older houses that are built is that they do not have the proper fittings to keep the sparks and stuff out when we get those big heavy Santa Ana winds. There are many things that I need to investigate to get more research on that.”
Pickard said that Voter ID is essential in elections.
“We need to make sure that everybody gets one vote, and only one vote,” he said. “There needs to be a formal identification process, and I think some are working on that, but we need to do more to make sure of this.”
Pickard said that he is pro-life, and that the unborn need to be protected.
“When you talk about the unborn, they cannot talk for themselves,” he said. “They are our newest and most vulnerable citizens, and they are important people and should not be dismissed or killed haphazardly. I know women want a choice sometimes, but there are two people there with specific DNA, and that is the way God makes us. I believe someone needs to stand up and speak for the unborn and say that these people are important.”
Pickard said he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and will fight for everyone’s right to bear arms.
“We can now really see how much the Second Amendment is needed in watching what is happening right now in Ukraine,” he said. “In our country, currently, everyone can own guns and no power would think of invading us because they know that they could not take us. That becomes obvious when you look at Ukraine and they did not have enough guns for the people to make Putin scared enough because he knew he could not take it over because everybody was armed who wants to be. So, you are safe from being invaded. Also, criminals, when they use arms on people who are unarmed, citizens are more scared doing their job. If they were, hopefully criminals would be deterred and get jobs instead of committing crimes.”
Pickard said that giving school choice to parents for their children leads to a better educated community.
“I believe there should be school choice,” he said. “Competition in schools definitely improves the quality of education. We used to be number one in the country in education in California and now we are down in the bottom five percent. The quality of our education has been deteriorating, so if parents have a choice of where they want to send their kids, they have a better chance of getting a better education and schools will have to compete to do a better job.”
Pickard said the border needs to be controlled, stopping drug cartels, child sex trafficking, and illegal border crossings.
“The drug cartels have become a big problem in coming across the border,” he said. “They are putting fentanyl in cocaine coming across the border and they are killing people. We need to stop letting them come across without vetting them and they are spreading across the country. It is not good for the country to have too many people, plus people on the lower economic scale compete for jobs with these folks and it makes it hard for them to get a job and feed their families and pay their bills. It makes is very difficult. We need to control the border.”
All COVID-19 government mandates need to be stopped, said Pickard.
“We need to stop following all mandates on COVID,” he said. “The states that have done that have been successful in not having problems. When we have more on COVID we see that we suffer more. With masks, you wear it outside and that is not good because it blocks the sun from your face and that is part of where we get our vitamin D which is an important part of staying healthy. Especially outside you do not need them because if you are healthy and the people that have been infected have been successful in conquering COVID and the flu. They are in better shape than the people getting the vaccines. It should not be a mandate. It should be a choice.”
Pickard said he would fight for roads and automobiles that people love and the push to force people to move to public transportation is keeping people from driving “automobiles we love and keep us free.”
“We are going to be driving cars on the road for quite a while,” he said. “We must make sure that we have good roads. We have a problem. When you drive on the freeways, they become more like parking lots in high traffic hours. We need to make sure we have enough roads and that they are in good shape. Roads right now are not maintained as well as they should be. Plus, keep the signs up and the lights on. I notice that many of the lights are not working on the freeways and the signs are not always lit. These things need to be better managed. We should not be forcing people on public transportation if that is not their choices. An automobile is good because you can go where you want to go and do what you want to do. If you take a trolly, train, it takes twice as long to get where you want to go. If you take a bus, it is three times longer. People are not going to go with public transportation when you have that type of situation. Caltrans used to do better planning back in the 60s and they seemed like they were always a step ahead providing enough roads for everybody. Lately, they have not been able to do that.”
Pickard said putting felons back on the streets and in neighborhoods is unsafe for citizens, especially children.
“I think that we need to keep them in jail,” he said. “You do not just let them back out. I am not sure if there is an easy solution to it, but you want to keep people in jail longer if they are a threat to society. Especially if they are a threat to children like sexual predators.”
Pickard said the housing crises is real, but that regulations and costs from Sacramento to the county are the problem.
“When you go to build a house, the builder has to put up about $75,000 to $100,000 in fees, prepayments, and stuff, before they put the first shovel in the ground,” he said. “That raises prices phenomenally. The regulations in the state of California are way out of line, along with the taxes and everything else. That is probably why we have so much trouble with the homeless. If someone’s business is overtaxed, they move out and all those jobs are gone, making it more difficult for people to find a job, pay their bills, and stay off the streets. Gas and electric have gone up phenomenally, and if you cannot pay those bills, you cannot own a house. The governor must back off and ease up a bit and make it easier for folks to get things done. People to not want to build junk. They want to build something that last. But you must make it easier to comply with building practices. I want to get California back to the wonderful state that it was again.”
Pickard said that any Democratic candidate must follow top leadership and the millionaires and billionaires in the Democratic primary to get elected. He said he wants citizens to join his fight against George Soros, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Governor Gavin Newsom, and President Joe Biden.
“To get anywhere, Democrats must follow Democrat policies,” he said. “I have talked to Democrats before and after elected, they changed their positions on issues. When it comes to an important vote where it makes a difference if it passes or not, then they flip sides and do not live up to their campaign promise. They must follow the Democratic line. Otherwise, they will not get funded in the next election. And most issues the Democrats are on the other side of the issue.”
